| ISBN | 9789988550455 |
| Pages | 112 |
| Dimensions | 100 x 100 mm |
| Illustrations | CD-Rom |
| Published | 2002 |
| Publisher | Sub-Saharan Publishers, Ghana |
| Format | Hardback |
Praise Song for The Land
by Kofi Anyidoho
I want to sing a Praise Song/for The Land/I must Sing a Praise Song/for Our People.'
thus sounds Anyidoho's statement of poetic intent.
Anyidoho draws on Ewe verbal art as a critical source of the culture and philosophical expression of an African community to produce this collection of poetry and song, his first in almost a decade. Published in both print and CD-ROM format, Anyidoho presents his words in printed and spoken form in the firm belief that 'the poetry of print is the domain of the eyewitness, the poetry of sound, the domain of the earwitness...the dominant poetic world of Africa....' It follows that the printed word, 'can no longer carry the full burden of my voice', at least, 'to all the people I call my people'. Kofi Anyidoho is a poet, research scholar of African literature, and a lecturer in English at the University of Ghana. Kofi Awoonor writes a critical introduction describing his poetry as 'the ultimate homage the poet pays to the intimate and elemental force of voice, the first instrument of poetry'.
Reviews
'All the poems in this collection, from the historical to the political, from the cultural to the philosophical, and from the poet's recount of family and communal relationships to his personal reminiscences, are sheer delight in lyrical precision.'
'A new collection of poems from Ghanaian poet, Kofi Anyidoho, is always a welcome event, a chance to hear again in the mind's ear a new articulation of the English language as it is teased and woven to express the experience and hope of the peoples of Africa...Praise Song for the Land is a most satisfying volume.'